From the Hearth

A lot of our recent culinary adventures are starting with this book:

From the Hearth: Recipes from the World of 18th Century Louisbourg by Hope Dunton

We picked this up at the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site, probably the most impressive historical recreation in Canada. The French had meticulous records from their attempts to colonize various parts of Canada, and Louisbourg was no exception. Using said records, Parks Canada rebuilt about 1/4 of the Fortress (which was destroyed by the British) and it is populated with both people and historic animals each summer.

The Fortress has a couple of restaurants with authentic fare in an 18th-century setting – recreated flatware, costumed servers, non-electric lighting, etc. We liked the food, so we bought the book.

These posts describe what we’ve cooked out of this book of historic recipes:

Meat dishes:

• Ham pâté (ham wrapped in pastry)
• Sausage à la moutarde au gratin
• Fillet of beef pâté
• Sausages à l’étuvée

Vegetable dishes (often meaty too):

• Cabbage farci (cabbage stuffed with meat)
• Cucumbers farcis (cucumbers stuffed with meat)
• New peas (fresh peas in cream sauce)
• White beans au gras
• Dried peas with salt pork
• Carrots à la Portugaise
• Matelotte of large onions
• Cauliflower, the third way

Egg dishes:

• Eggs farcis (breaded egg and veggie balls)
• Eggs à la bourgeoise (easy egg/bread/cheese bake)
• Eggs à la jardinière (egg and Béchamel bake)
• Eggs au fromage (soft-scrambled eggs with cheese and wine)
• Talmouses
• Eggs with candied citron peel (also a dessert!)

Desserts:

• Frangipan pie (cream, almond flour, and candied lemon peel)
• Lemon meringues
• Dessert cream
• Tart pastry cases
• (Although not in the book, candied lemon peel features in many recipes)
• Oeufs au pain (bread pudding soufflé)